


The Morning After

by OtterHell



Series: Kylux Modern AU [3]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Tfa, The Force Awakens - Fandom
Genre: Bathtub Sex, Confessions, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Kylo is clingy, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Making Up, Modern AU, PWP, Ren's kind of cute when he's not a piece of shit, Smut, Sugar Daddy Hux, assholes in love, morning after an argument, needy Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-09 07:41:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12883224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterHell/pseuds/OtterHell
Summary: "Take today off. Call in sick," Kylo pressed, running his callused palms up Hux's bare back and kneading loose the knots along his spine. If that wasn't enough for Hux to seriously consider his proposition, Kylo decided to really test his resolve. He mouthed lazily at Hux's throat and behind his ear, his voice coming out as a sleepy (and somewhat sly) purr."Please."





	The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is the third in a short collection for the Modern Kylux AU. It follows both [ An Exclusive Affair ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835464) and [ Casual Friday ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12789678), so check them both out if you want to read in order! 
> 
> \------------
> 
> This account is run and managed by two people: Tea and Fresh.
> 
> We are RP partners, and we're using this platform to unload our (copious) number of RPs.  
> Mostly smut, tbh.
> 
> The POV changes frequently, given the nature of roleplay writing, and if there are any noticeable continuity gaps it's 100% because the rp was abandoned for a few days/weeks before getting picked up again.
> 
> None of these works have been edited, touched up, or polished.

The alarm went off the same time it always did -- well before the sun had fully risen, and well before Kylo had any intention of crawling out from under the covers. He was never the one to set it, of course, being perfectly content to laze around in bed until late morning. 

 

Hux, however, seemed to have an aversion to sleeping in. Even on weekends. Even after last night -- which was, at present, mostly a blur in Kylo's mind, but he could tell he was hungover and he recalled their scuffle at the gala in vivid enough detail.

 

More specifically, he remembered fucking in the back of Hux's car. The rest wasn't as clear, but after they had stumbled into Hux's apartment some time later they had fucked again.

 

It explained why Kylo was so bone-tired. It also explained why his head was fucking  _ splitting _ and Hux's alarm was more jarringly shrill than usual. He grumbled against his pillow, reached over with one arm, and viciously  _ yanked  _ the wretched thing out of the socked.

 

He may or may not have broken it in his roughness, but it wouldn't be the first of Hux's alarms that Kylo had broken, and it most certainly would not be the last. And, with the sound gone, the room was peaceably silent once more.

 

Not for long, though. Hux always stirred no matter how promptly Kylo slammed the snooze button or yanked the plug, and then he always tried to  _ leave _ . And, half asleep though Kylo still was, he nearly always made an effort to complicate Hux's efforts to roll out of bed.

 

He was particularly keen on preventing Hux from crawling away this morning. For all the holes in Kylo's memory of last night, he still remembered that  _ man _ , and Hux's confession, and however much the latter had reassured him, Kylo felt a possessive sting over the memory of some nameless bastard coming anywhere near laying hands on what was now effectively  _ his. _

 

It was this thought in particular that had Kylo wrapping an arm around Hux's bare chest and pulling him close, so Kylo could tuck him against his shoulder and rest his chin atop Hux's head. For good measure, he curled a leg around Hux's, using the weight of it to keep him effectively pinned in place.

 

_ Much better.  _ Kylo let out a satisfied huff, pleased with how Hux's slight body felt against him, pleased with how easy it was for Kylo curl around him and keep him in place. It felt  _ right,  _ somehow. He could easily forget about his throbbing headache and sour stomach as he buried his nose against Hux's hair, already drifting back into a shallow sleep.

 

It happened every morning. 

 

Well, perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration.

 

It happened  _ most  _ mornings. The alarm would start to blare, and before it even looped through one cycle of persistent beeping - hardly enough to rouse Hux from his sleep - Kylo Ren would shut it off. Hux had been very nearly late to work on more than one occasion because of this. 

 

Today was no different. More difficult, perhaps, because he was waking sore and sated and with a light hangover to deal with, as well, a faint fuzz in his head that told him the shots he'd taken off of Kylo's chest the night before had perhaps been a little overkill, in terms of alcohol consumption. 

 

He stirred nonetheless, body having learned to respond to the aborted alarm enough to drag him from his slumber and into a groggy, tired wakefulness just in time to feel strong arms wrap around him, the smell of stale cologne and sweat against his nose and a leg swung over his hip. One of  _ those  _ mornings, then. 

 

Hux shouldn't of been surprised. The night before had been tense; emotional, even, between the things he'd blurted out in the heat of the moment and the sloppy sex they'd had in the back of his car. Kylo had been jealous, had been needy and persistent and possessive, and it only stood to translate into more of the same this morning, especially with how much the man had drunk the night before. None of this justification eliminated Hux's obligations to his work. 

 

He groaned when he felt those large hands curl around his hips to keep him in place, the weight of Kylo's body settling half on top of him, and tried to roll away, succeeding marginally by shifting onto his back. He twisted his head as though to check the time, but the alarm was dark, the plug yanked out hard enough to tear some wires. Kylo would be buying him a new alarm clock, it seemed, and Hux groaned again just to be petulant, reaching up to rub his eyes with the heel of one hand. 

 

"I have work, Kylo." Informing him of this fact never seemed had the intended effect, but Hux brought it up anyway, trying to shimmy away from those grabbing hands and the over-large, grumbling oaf of a man. 

 

"It's Saturday."

 

Kylo's voice was gravely and muffled into the top of Hux's head. Truthfully, he had no idea what day it was in his groggy, hungover, and barely-conscious state. He thought it was Saturday. It  _ should _ be a Saturday -- and if it wasn't,  _ fuck it,  _ Hux had never taken a sick day as long as a Kylo had known him. Might as well make this a first.

 

So, when Hux made the smallest effort to squirm away, Kylo was all over him. He wrapped both arms around Hux's waist, tightening them around his middle and dragging him closer so that Hux's back was flush to Kylo's chest. Then he craned his neck downward, nuzzling his face against the side of Hux's throat.

 

"Stay," he mumbled, clearly unbothered by his own uninhibited clinginess. Kylo could always say he was too half-asleep and delirious to remember any of this, if Hux ever accused him of tenderness.

 

But he didn't complain much, after the morning. Kylo suspected Hux liked curling up like far more than he let on.

 

"It's Thursday," Hux corrected tiredly, though to Kylo Ren,  _ every _ day was a Saturday. He didn't exactly work much - if at all, for that matter - and so Hux very nearly didn't blame him for not knowing what day of the week it actually was. 

 

He tried again, but this time made even less progress towards the edge of the bed before Kylo was all over him, long arms around his middle and face muffling the quietest of pleas against the side of his throat. Hux sighed - an obnoxious, put-upon thing - but for a while made no other effort to move, contenting himself with the warmth all down his back and the callused palms pressed to his chest. 

 

It was becoming increasingly difficult to resist the temptation that Kylo made of himself, and that was a  _ problem _ . 

 

"I can't," he tried, but those clearly weren't the magic words to have Kylo letting go of him. "Kylo -  _ Ren  _ \- some of us can only afford nice condos and expensive cars because we go to work every day." 

 

Hux's increased struggling roused Kylo from his state of near-sleep, but that succeeded only in making him hold Hux more tightly. He didn't care that Hux sounded exasperated, or pleading. He didn't care at  _ all _ how Hux sounded, in fact, because right now he cared only about keeping him close and feeding the feelings of want and possessiveness that had bled over from last night. 

 

"You're a rich CEO," Kylo argued, somewhat more coherent now -- at least, insofar as his ability to put together a response that was more than a couple words. "You can just pay someone  _ else  _ to do your work."

 

Kylo felt it was a reasonable thing to do. He had seen enough wealthy men and women -- former senators and supreme court judges, mostly -- to know that, with a sizable enough fortune, one could comfortably whittle away the rest of their years work-free. Why Hux was always so keen to work his day-long shifts five days a week, Kylo couldn't fathom. At the very least he could spend  _ one _ extra day being unproductive.

 

Well,  _ unproductive _ in the work-related sense, anyway; there were many things they could occupy themselves with on one of Hux's days off…

 

For now, though, Kylo was mainly interested in sleeping tangled up with Hux for another few hours.

 

"No one  _ else  _ would do my work  _ correctly _ ," Hux felt it pertinent to point out despite the fact that Kylo was most definitely no longer listening. It was like arguing with a brick wall. More difficult, probably, since the wall didn't make any effort to try and keep him there. Hux twisted onto his back again - with great effort, mind - then onto his other side, so that he was facing Kylo and Kylo's petulant pout both. 

 

"Why are you so keen to keep me here?" More persistent than usual, at any rate. 

 

Normally, Hux chalked such a thing up to Ren's seeming ability to get it up in moments. It was rare the man woke any morning without having something to take care of. But even were that a concern now, Ren was acting less horny and more simply clingy, the way he had Hux tucked under his chin and his generally-sleepy demeanor. Hux couldn't understand why he didn't just sleep when he was by himself, but something in his expression softened when he was met with the curve of Kylo's mouth. 

 

Hux kissed it, tipping his head just enough to brush his mouth over that pout, then slipped a hand between them, rubbing at Kylo's chest in a close approximation of a gentle caress. "Hm? What've I done to deserve such  _ neediness _ , Kylo?" 

 

Kylo considered denying and any all suggestion that he was being  _ needy _ , but the words caught on his tongue and he decided to simply say nothing, instead. He gave no confirmation or denial. There was a heavy, concerted silence as Kylo kept his eyes stubbornly shut (Hux would notice the somewhat indignant jut of his bottom lip, surely) and pretended that he was too asleep to answer. Despite his apparent state of barely-consciousness, though, Kylo still made a pleased sound when Hux kissed his lips and ran a hand across his chest. Eyes still closed, he blindly chased after Hux's lips, trying to steal another one of those tender kisses that they rarely shared, because so often when he and Hux kissed there was some spark of lust behind it. 

 

Right now, however, Kylo wasn't particularly interested in sex. Later, he decided, after he'd had more time to sleep off the hangover. After, when he had the entire rest of the day to indulgently fuck Hux into the mattress -- or vice-versa. 

 

He felt Hux fidget again. Promptly -- far too promptly for Hux to reasonably believe Kylo was as asleep as he was pretending to be -- Kylo moved his hands to Hux's ass and pulled his lower half closer. It made it easier for Kylo to curl his leg around Hux's hips and keep him effectively flush against his body from shoulder to toe. It was almost overheating under the covers, especially when Kylo's body was like a furnace, but he was too comfortable to kick them off.

 

"You know I can tell you're not asleep," Hux muttered, voice thick and hot against Kylo's already-burning collarbone. He'd been surprised, once upon a time, that a man could run so warm and not overheat, but Kylo was like a small, personal furnace. It had been appreciated, back in the cooler months, but now that spring was over and summer was well upon them, Hux woke up in the mornings tacky and covered in a thin sheen of sweat more often than not. He'd taken to turning the A/C down to a cool sixty-something at night, whenever he could remember to do so. 

 

Clearly, that had not been his priority the previous evening, and now Hux had to face the consequences of his decisions, pressed up against Kylo with hands on his ass and the rise-and-fall of a broad chest under his cheek. 

 

His fingers toyed idly along Ren's ribs, up to one pec, where he paused to tease his nail under a nipple, flicking it with casual cruelty just to make Kylo jump. "And you still haven't answered my questions." 

 

Ren wasn't the only one who could be a nuisance. With great effort and more than a little bit of shoving, Hux managed to roll Kylo onto his back, following after him to drape himself over that ridiculous torso. "Don't tell me you miss me  _ that  _ much when I'm gone," he drawled, feeling better now that the sheet had slid off his back and his shoulders were exposed to the gently-blowing air from the vents. "Tell me; what's got you so eager to keep me here?" 

 

For how much stronger Kylo was and how tightly he was holding on, Hux was frustratingly good at wriggling away. It was perhaps in part because the pinch had taken him off-guard; before he could react, let alone bother saying anything in response to Hux's question, Kylo was grunting in displeasure as he felt Hux shoving him onto his back and shifting in his arms as if to escape.

 

Instead, his weight settled comfortably atop Kylo's chest. That was perfectly acceptable, too. Kylo could bury his face against Hux's shoulder and breathe him in, still keeping both arms wound low around his hips in case he tried to leave again.

 

He could easily fall back asleep like this, but Hux wasn't letting go of his question and Kylo clearly couldn't keep pretending to be too half-conscious to answer.

 

Besides, perhaps distracting Hux with conversation would keep him in bed longer.

 

"It's comfortable," Kylo said simply, though that wasn't the half of it and Hux would probably call him out. What did he expect, though? Kylo was rarely forthcoming about expressing anything that wasn't anger, least of all talking about any of these feelings, even after he had shown his hand last night. They  _ both _ had,  really. It was both cathartic and secretly terrifying, so Kylo avoided the question, spun another one instead to lob back at Hux so he might get out of giving him an earnest answer.

 

"Don't you  _ want _ to stay?"

 

" _ It's comfortable _ ," Hux echoed, sounding like he didn't buy that particular excuse one bit. They were treading delicate territory, however, and after the previous night's confessions, he wasn't entirely sure how to proceed. 

 

Hux figured they'd need to talk about it, eventually, but the notion of discussing Kylo's insecurities and his own desire to keep the man by his side, on his arm, and in his bed, didn't sit particularly well with him. He wasn't known for talking about his feelings; Kylo even less so. 

 

Instead, they played this game and Hux exhaled a snort against Kylo's shoulder at the question presented to him, fingers trailing nonsense patterns over that broad chest and down those trim sides. He shrugged with one shoulder, pecked a kiss to a beauty mark close to his mouth, then shifted until he felt one large hand come to a stop on his ass, making himself  _ comfortable  _ since that seemed to be what Kylo wanted.  

 

"Yes; do you think I enjoy getting up at six in the morning?" Despite his early-bird nature, if there hadn't been an alarm to keep him in check, Hux would have undoubtedly spent his days sleeping until noon, much like he assumed Kylo did whenever he was gone out of the house and to work. "But that doesn't mean I can roll around the sheets with you at all hours of the day, Ren. You must realize that much." 

 

"You _ could," _ Kylo protested, sounding a bit sullen and childish as he huffed his words against the side of Hux's neck. He knew full well how seriously Hux took his career and his company. It was admirable. At the same time, he felt Hux was more than deserving of a few days purely for the sake of self-indulgence. Perhaps all he needed was a bit of  _ convincing. _

 

Kylo felt prepared for the challenge -- he could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. And this morning, more than ever, he  _ wanted _ Hux to stay.

 

"Take today off. Call in sick," Kylo pressed, running his callused palms up Hux's bare back and kneading loose the knots along his spine. If that wasn't enough for Hux to seriously consider his proposition, Kylo decided to  _ really _ test his resolve. He mouthed lazily at Hux's throat and behind his ear, his voice coming out as a sleepy (and somewhat sly)purr.

 

" _ Please _ ."

 

Kylo Ren could be a sly bastard, when he put his mind to it, and Hux generally didn't stand a chance. His resolve was tested now more-so than ever, especially when that plea was murmured into his ear, desperate and oh-so tempting.

 

He shivered, and was sure Kylo could feel it run all up and down his spine in the same pattern that those large hands traced over sore muscles.

 

It was another few moments before he responded, though his answer was clear long before in the way he curled in closer, tucking his face against Kylo's neck.

 

_ "Fine _ . But we're not spending the whole time in bed, Ren. Now let me go so I can make the call." And maybe get some coffee, now that he was awake and all.

 

Kylo didn't let go. He had no intention to, either, even though Hux had relented to taking a well-deserved day off. Kylo wasn't especially concerned with his acquiescence being some sort of front to trick him into letting Hux go; rather, he simply didn't  _ want _ to. Not yet, at least. He was tired and Hux was a comforting weight curled up on top of him. The thought of letting go now was not particularly appealing. And Hux, being Hux, would probably go make coffee and breakfast rather than rejoining Kylo for another hour or two of sleep.

 

So, he stubborn held on, continuing to rub at Hux's back as if to coax him into giving in to this, too.

 

"It can wait," he muttered, blindly reaching down with one hand to pull the sheets over Hux's exposed back. 

 

"The sun's not even up yet."

 

"And yet here I am, awake with nothing to do," he drawled. Unlike Kylo, Hux couldn't simply drop dead to the world on a whim. Sleeping was kept on a strict schedule, and once he was awake - be that at four in the morning or at ten - he was usually awake for good, barring any wayward illness or other malady that had him dozing off at inopportune moments. 

 

" _ You're  _ hungover and your breath probably tastes like ass, too." Which meant that making out was out of the question. 

 

He hadn't even settled into his day off, and Hux was already making plans, drawing up an itinerary for the day's events like he intended to have strictly-scheduled fun starting with a home-cooked breakfast and ending with more salt sprinkled between Kylo's  _ ample  _ chest. 

 

Hux tried to shift away - again - but this time he was thwarted both by the sheet and by Kylo's arms wound tight around him, landing back on top of the other man with a quiet, annoyed huff of a breath. "If you're planning on sleeping your morning away, at least let me go tidy up some details for the day. Or explain why you don't want me to leave the bed so damn bad."

 

'Or'  made it sound as if Hux would agree to staying -- if only Kylo explained himself, rather than blatantly avoiding the question. It was worth considering.

 

So, Kylo considered it, snuffling against Hux's hair and lazily kneading at his lower back and the base of his spine. He was silent for a few moments, until Hux tried to fidget away again and Kylo responded with a tighter hold and a long-suffering sigh.  _ Fine,  _ if a bit of begrudging sincerity was what would keep Hux in bed, Kylo would give that to him.

 

"I was thinking about what you told me last night." Kylo spoke slowly, words measured. It felt strange bringing this up when he was sober, and talking openly about his thoughts was not something Kylo had done in ages. He must be out of practice.

 

"I like the thought that we are--" he struggled to find the word, "-- _ exclusive".  _

 

Perhaps that didn't explain why he was so keen to have Hux spend a lazy morning in bed with him,  so Kylo tried to quickly elucidate.

 

"And I feel as though you're  _ mine when we lie like this." _

 

"I'm  _ always  _ yours, idiot." 

 

But it was enough to have him stilling, something uncomfortable lodged just between the back of his throat and his lungs. Hux wasn't used to this - to having someone he could  _ keep  _ \- and the thought alone had him tucking his nose in against Kylo's collar just to hide his face, toes tickling over the other man's calves while he went through the process of wedging them between his feet. 

 

"Is this what all your fuss yesterday was about? You honestly think that -" and there he cut himself off, because  _ yes _ , Kylo Ren had  _ honestly  _ thought that living under Hux's roof and eating his food and driving his cars and sharing a bed every damn night still didn't translate to sort of  _ exclusivity  _ between them. That was what he'd jerked Kylo off in a supply closet over.

 

Hux yawned, the next part of his amended statement coming out pitched low and on the end of an obnoxious whine. "Remind me to get you a rock," he muttered, fingers finding their way around the back of Kylo's neck so that he could trace his thumb over the jut of his jaw and massage the base of his skull in tandem, "So that you don't  _ forget  _ next time I have to go to work." 

 

Hux must not have realized how much that simple statement had affected Kylo. He had fallen still and quiet, barely hearing the rest of whatever Hux was saying, and taking longer still to process it.

 

_ "Always yours." _

 

Kylo's chest felt heavy with something he tried not to think about. And, focused as he was on not thinking about it, his brain caught stupidly on one seemingly nonsensical word that Hux was grumbling into his clavicle.

 

"A rock?" Kylo echoed, clearly uncomprehending. He was too distracted, too flustered over that unexpected promise of _ always _ that nothing else really sunk in. With good reason, of course - Hux hadn't admitted exactly _ that _ last night, and Kylo still felt a bit sullen over how apparently permissive Hux was being to the older man that had been hitting on him. Just the _ thought _ of Hux with someone else set Kylo's teeth on edge.

 

But, if Hux really did feel that this was _ exclusive… _

 

Kylo pressed a kiss against the top of Hux's bed-messed hair and squeezed his arms around his waist, despite that Hux wasn't making another attempt to wriggle away. Hux could gripe about it all he wanted, but Kylo was reasonably certain that he enjoyed it when Kylo coiled possessively around him in his post-coital and half-awake moments of affection.

 

" _ Mhmmm _ ." His brain was awake but his body felt wonderfully heavy with the permission it was granted to stay in bed. It was the best kind of lethargy - the kind he didn't have to fight through because apparently, he was taking a day off.

 

"White gold. Or titanium, maybe." Hux wasn't aware that Kylo wasn't asking about clarification on what type of rock, rather that he didn't understand the premise of ' _ rock _ ' to begin with. He'd figure it out sooner or later, as Hux wasn't against the notion of elaborating on that small, indulgent fantasy.

 

"Twenty-four karat, obviously," he continued to mumble, fingers having abandoned their place on Ren's cheek in order to meander down his throat, over one broad shoulder and to his chest. "You'll remember then, won't you?"

 

The question managed to sound condescending even with the grin that Hux tucked against Kylo's shoulder, kissing him over the small speckle of moles that dotted the jut of bone and continued down his bicep. "I could get my name in it, so that it leaves a mark every time you wear it." Now there was a thought. For all that Kylo was physically possessive, preferring to haul Hux against him each time he tried to wiggle away or clinging to him desperately when they were in bed together, Hux had a certain affinity for leaving hickeys in obvious places, for digging his nails into the meat of Kylo's thighs until skin broke and left blood on his fingertips. They both liked it  _ rough _ , but Kylo was the one that left most of their encounters with his throat ringed in a choker of purple and blue.

 

 

Hux wasn't above indulging in thoughts of something a little more  _ permanent _ . His hand found one of Kylo's under the sheets, tugging it out so that he could lace their fingers together and bring them up to his mouth for a kiss.

 

It was the mention of _ karats _ that had realization dawning slowly over Kylo's face. His eyes slid half open, but he had nothing with which to gauge Hux's thoughts save for his tone of voice. He sounded serious, if a bit patronizing, but neither was unusual for Hux and Kylo couldn't imagine him casually discussing a  _ ring _ without some intention of making that happen.

 

Kylo let out a shuddering breath of air, suddenly feeling... Shocked? Overwhelmed? Perhaps a bit of both, along with something else that made Kylo's chest twist uncomfortably. He loosened his arms around Hux's waist, staring up at the ceiling as if suddenly transfixed by the patterns in the white stucco. He was listening to Hux, too, rapt with his talks of inscribing his name so that it would stay imprinted on Kylo's skin, not unlike the fresh and faded bruises and bite marks that Hux left everywhere else.

 

He was still speechless when Hux kissed his knuckles. It took a few swallows and false starts before Kylo managed to break his long silence.

 

"You-- Would you really want that?" He sounded uncharacteristically timid when he asked, and that bothered Kylo - though not nearly as much as it would bother him if he didn't make  _ sure _ .

 

_ Obviously _ , Hux wanted to say, eyeroll and exasperation included, but Kylo's tone had him biting his tongue and tilting his chin up to look the man over.

 

Ren appeared a little dazed, like the thought had never even crossed his mind, much less seemed like an attainable reality. It made Hux want to reassure him, which in and of itself was a strange desire. More than that, however, it made him want to go and find the ring right there, and that had something uncomfortably fond twisting his gut. 

 

He wasn't supposed to feel like  _ this _ . But there Ren was, staring at the ceiling and making Hux's ribcage feel tight with a softly-worded, hesitant question. 

 

Hux shifted, then, but not to get off. Instead, he lifted himself onto his knees, the sheet whispering off his back to pool around his hips while he straddled Kylo and put himself in the man's direct line of sight, hands braced on either side of Ren's head and thighs squeezing his hips like that might snap his attention forward. 

 

"Yeah. I want it."

 

Kylo wasn't sure what he had expected, exactly, but  _ rejection _ had seemed far more plausible to him than any sort of affirmation. Hux couldn't be serious. Anyone who knew Kylo -- who  _ really _ knew Kylo, at least as well as Hux did by this point -- would never want to keep him around. 

 

And yet, Hux appeared genuine. Kylo had nowhere else to look but his face, and there was nothing in his expression that suggested dishonesty -- not as far as Kylo could perceive, anyway. His brow furrowed as he stared a moment longer, as if trying to make sense of it, or as if he was trying to find some fault line in Hux's mask of sincerity that might give away that he was lying. He saw nothing of the sort. As inconceivable as it was, Hux appeared to genuinely  _ want him _ .

 

Kylo was still at a loss for words, but he was capable, at least, of reaching up to cup Hux's face in his big hands and pull him in for a kiss. It wasn't the typical affair of tongue and teeth; instead it was little more than a brief, tender press of their lips. When Kylo let go again, leaving Hux free to pull away or roll off him if he so wished, he still appeared stunned -- and  _ vulnerable,  _ too, in the same way he did whenever Hux wore him to the brink of orgasm. He didn't bother trying to speak, and it was clear by his wide-eyed silence that he wasn't about to any time soon.

 

If a little bit of genuine honesty could get him that, Hux wondered what a full-blown confession might earn him. He was careful to return the kiss, careful not break whatever spell of quiet had come over them. Many streets below, cars streaked by and early morning traffic took hold of the city, but the sun was still hardly peeking through the curtains and it was quiet in their bedroom, Kylo slack-jawed and looking very nearly lost while Hux ran the tip of his nose over his cheek and left a kiss at the base of his jaw. 

 

"I want... very much, from you and with you," he spoke softly, and maybe it was the hour or maybe it was the hangover that had him murmuring naked truths against the side of Kylo's throat, but Hux plowed on before he had the chance to back out, words muffled by soft skin. "You've managed - somehow, God knows  _ how  _ \- to work your way into my idle thoughts, into my home, into my heart, and I want to keep you. I want to keep you, Kylo, for as long as you will have me and maybe even longer than that." He was nothing if not a selfish man, after all. 

 

Hux pressed another lingering kiss to the side of Kylo's neck, then shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in the aftermath of his confession. He needed to get up, and with Kylo's hands slack at his sides, it was easy to slip away and stuff his feet into a pair of slippers under the pretense of brushing his teeth when all he really wanted was a few minutes alone to gather himself again. 

 

The idea that anyone would want to  _ keep him _ still seemed so unlikely that Kylo could barely wrap his head around it. Hux's confession hung heavily in the air between them, made all the more weighty by Kylo's speechless silence. He was faintly aware that it might be making Hux uncomfortable, that he might be waiting for some sort of admission or acknowledgment, but he couldn't put any of his thoughts to words. He was still reeling in wake of everything Hux had just said, trying to rationalize what was surely too good to be true.

 

Maybe he was dreaming. That might explain why they were having this poignant discussion rather than mindlessly fucking one another beneath the sheets.

 

Kylo felt Hux kiss his throat before moving away. The loss of his weight and warmth made the room feel so much colder, and as Kylo lay there in his dazed silence he found himself growing uncomfortably desperate for Hux's return. He could hear water running in the bathroom. Hux was still nearby, then. He would probably be back shortly.

 

But Kylo was too impatient and uneasy to wait. He threw off the sheets and rolled out of bed, only now aware of how much his body was aching. It wasn't altogether unpleasant; though his stomach was twisting and his head pounding, the soreness in his ass was a welcome reminder of how he'd been fucked in the backseat of Hux's car. It made him feel like maybe this really was all real, like Hux really did want to possess him. 

 

The thought was pleasing, however much Kylo was struggling to process it.

 

He slipped into the bathroom to find Hux leaning over the sink. Without a word, Kylo moved up behind him and wrapped both arms around his waist, pressing his face into the back of Hux's neck and drinking in the warmth and smell of him. It was comforting, so much so that Kylo's tongue loosened enough for him to mutter against Hux's nape:

 

"I want to keep you, too."

 

It was the silence that had made him itch. Kylo had stayed still and quiet despite the things that Hux had said to him, despite the confession he had offered, and that had made him think that maybe, perhaps he'd said something wrong. 

 

It was easier to disappear to the bathroom rather than stick around to find out. 

 

Hux didn't look at his reflection while he squeezed toothpaste out onto his brush and shoved it none-too-kindly into his mouth, scraping the mint flavor over his teeth in an effort to wash away the taste of last night's champagne and whatever bit of acrid discomfort still lingered in the wake of Kylo's silence.

 

He'd just spat, finally glancing up to asses the state of his stubble (it was probably high time to razor it off, anyway, and that would buy him a few more minutes of being alone to gather his thoughts), when the bathroom door swung open and Kylo shuffled in. He looked ridiculous with his hair disheveled and his throat dotted in pale marks, but Hux would be lying if he said he didn't love him like this, those rare mornings he got to have Kylo up and out of bed before he himself was dashing to work. 

 

It was still quiet besides the steady stream of water swirling down the drain, but Kylo broke the silence soon enough, his face buried between Hux's shoulderblades and the weight of him entirely more of a comfort than Hux would willingly admit. 

 

He was silent for a short while, rinsing out his brush and his mouth both with Kylo warm all down his back and that same sense of lethargy settling comfortably into his bones. 

 

"I'm glad we've come to a consensus, then." They both clearly wanted the same thing, and Hux would be damned if he was going to let it go. Slowly, very slowly, he twisted in Kylo's hold, slid his arms up his biceps and around the back of his neck and coaxed him into another languid kiss, wrinkling his nose when they parted. "Brush your teeth and join me in the shower? Or back to bed?" 

 

Kylo hummed at the question, as if he was trying to decide which option to go with. Truthfully, he just wanted an excuse to draw this out a little longer. Hux seemed to slot perfectly against his chest, and the moment the kiss broke, Kylo had his face nestled into the crook of Hux's neck. He lingered like this in contented silence for as long as he could before somewhat grudgingly responding.

 

"I would rather use your bath." 

 

They had showered together on a few occasions, after all -- usually when Hux was trying to get ready for work and Kylo was trying to slow him down as much as he possibly could. Hux gave himself more enough time to shower and dress in the morning, so the brief distraction Kylo provided was never really enough to make him late. Using the bath, however, was a much less efficient means of washing off. Hux never bothered with it on the mornings he worked. 

 

But today they could had all the time in the world, and Kylo found the idea of having Hux remain nestled up against him immensely appealing. 

 

Kylo was painfully, deliberately slow that morning; slower than usual. For once, it didn't seem like it mattered. Hux held him and brushed his fingers through the tangles in his hair and waited for an answer, content enough to linger in the silence while Kylo came to a decision and mumbled it against his throat. 

 

"My bath?" 

 

Hux wasn't sure he'd ever turned it on, much less used it for its intended purpose. Sure, he had a few soaps, some salts - all things gifted to him at one point or another in his career that he kept on a low, out-of-the-way shelf because he never used it and he couldn't bring himself to throw away unopened packages. 

 

"It's kind of small." 

 

Definitely not for two people, much less two people where one of them was the size of Kylo Ren's broad chest and long torso. 

 

Hux was silent for a long moment, mouth a thin, vaguely-annoyed line. It wasn't particularly efficient, either, but Kylo had him trapped between a sink and a hard place, holding him close with those absurdly-large hands on his waist. Eventually, unsurprisingly, Hux relented. 

 

"Fine. Brush your teeth and I'll get the water started." 

 

Kylo was unsurprised when Hux gave in; he had already agreed to take a day off, so every request Kylo made thereafter seemed relatively reasonable. His stern frown was thus unconvincing, and it was with a crooked smirk that Kylo leaned down and pressed a kiss to one corner of Hux's mouth before he moved away.

 

He returned to his content but contemplative silence as he brushed his teeth, replacing the stale taste of liquor with much more pleasant mint. The sound of Hux running the bath was an oddly comforting backdrop to this morning routine. It felt so much more relaxing than usual, knowing Hux had nowhere to be in a couple hours. Kylo would be sure to relish this.

 

When he was finished rinsing out his mouth, Kylo made his way over to the bath. As with nearly everything in Hux's apartment, it looked tasteful and  expensive. Naturally, a man making the sort of money Hux did could spend it on such frivolities as a luxury bathroom.

 

"Have you ever even used this?" Kylo asked, reaching down to dip a hand into the steamy water to check the temperature. Nice and hot - just how he liked it.

 

While Kylo scrubbed staleness from his breath, Hux got the water running and picked a soap and random, sniffing it once he broke the seal. It wasn't bad, honestly. Eucalyptus and cucumber, according to the label on the front, and also according to the label, he was supposed add two cap-fulls into the pouring water. Hux went with three, because his tub deep for all that it was narrow, and set the bottle aside, gathering a bathrobe and a pair of towels for afterwards. 

 

By the time they were both done, the tub was a little over half-full, steaming up the room already and leaving the mirrors foggy. 

 

Hux stepped out of his slippers and didn't test the water before sliding in, the heat making him shiver until he was sat on the floor of the tub and submerged up to his torso. 

 

"I haven't. This will be the first time," he murmured, and maybe there was some merit to a bath - strange as the whole ritual seemed. 

 

Kylo snorted, and it may have sounded derisive if it hadn't been softened by the pleased hum vibrating in his chest a moment later when he began to sink into the tub. Hux hadn't been wrong - it  _ was _ a bit small, but if Kylo drew his knees to his chest on the opposite side of the bath, they were both able to fit reasonably well.

 

"You need to indulge more often," he noted, very matter of fact, while he leaned back against the side of the tub and let his and Hux's legs brush. Kylo was aware that he might look a bit ridiculous right now, all curled up on himself as he tried to make his body more compact. He didn't particularly care, though, still sleepy and content after their earlier disfussion.

 

Kylo didn't stay in place for long. Just as he adjusted to the heated water, he reached out to tug insistently at one of Hux's wrists with the intent of repositioning the other man against his chest. He fit there so well, after all.

 

"For someone with so much, you don't seem to treat yourself nearly as often as you could."

 

Kylo looked absurd. A man his size had no business in a tub that small, but Hux wasn't much better, honestly. The fact that Ren was sat across from him forced him to draw his own knees up, head resting back against a conveniently-curved tile that supported the back of his neck and offered small jets, as well, which pounded steadily across his shoulders and lower back. 

 

"I indulge." Expensive cigarettes, flashy sports cars - he had his few vices, despite being a confirmed workaholic. Kylo, too, could be considered an indulgence, in some abstract way. He certainly spent money like one. Or, rather, Hux spent money on him like he was one. "I just don't need much." Far be it for him to call himself an ascetic. Hux liked things, on principle. But he certainly could've done without the penthouse apartment or the linen sheet. It just didn't do for a man of his reputation to be living in a one-man studio somewhere on the West side. 

 

He rolled his eyes when Kylo tugged his wrist but followed the insistent pull, ending up with his back to Ren's broad chest and his hands sleeking up sudsy thighs when they finally settled, both warm and a little slow given the nature of their morning thus far. "I prefer to spoil you. That has its own certain appeal." 

 

Kylo made a pleased sound low in his throat as Hux settled against him. Immediately, he pressed his face to the back of the other man's neck, leaving a trail of lazy, playful kisses up along to his jaw. His arms both curled loosely around Hux's waist, similar to how Kylo had wrapped around him in bed. This was decidedly more comfortable, though, with the heat of the water making his skin flush and the knots and aches in his body slowly relax.

 

"Why?" he pried, though Kylo could certainly guess at why Hux liked to spoil him. He just wanted to hear him say it. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed hearing Hux confess to sentiment, especially considering how averse Kylo had been to allowing  _ feelings _ into this so-called arrangement they had. Obviously, much had changed.

 

"Why what? Why do I like spoiling you?" He was quickly losing the conversation thread, with Kylo against him and those strong arms wrapped around his middle. Hux would rather not have discussed the intricacies of his affections at all, but he was feeling loose and amiable enough to the prying, toes skimming Kylo's calves as he stretched out and lifted them above the water briefly. 

 

It was nice, he decided after a few moments of silence, and tilted his head back on Kylo's shoulder, just enough that he could skim a few kisses along his cheek and jaw. 

 

"Because I like your reactions." Kylo looked so damn pleased whenever he got his way, it was hard not to spoil him. The thank-you sex didn't hurt, either, and neither did the way Ren looked when he was decked in perfectly-tailored Tom Ford, or sat astride a Harley. "And I like seeing you happy." 

 

There was a faint quirk to Kylo's mouth that resembled a smile, but Hux could not easily see it with how they were positioned. Kylo preferred it that way; he made a point to hide his smiles whenever he could. It was a matter of self-consciousness, mostly, for how much he resembled his estranged father when his lips pulled into a lopsided smirk.

 

"And you like the way I look dressed in expensive clothing and riding expensive cars," Kylo added with amusement, as if he had plucked the very thought from Hux's head. It was obvious that Hux appreciated the view whenever he had Kylo dressed up in nice suits or offered him a ride in one of his so-called company cars. Kylo liked it more for the ego boost it gave him to catch Hux sneaking glances. He had never really thought of himself as particularly attractive before, but for all the pampering he received nowadays, Kylo was beginning to feel differently.

 

It was nevertheless touching, though, to hear that Hux had his happiness in mind -- regardless of whether or not that was true. After this morning's string of confessions, Kylo was willing to believe it.

 

"Let's go out somewhere today." The suggestion came abruptly, as if Kylo was suddenly eager to change the subject. In truth, the thought had just occurred to him that he and Hux rarely ventured into the city together. Most of their time was spent in Hux's apartment, and lately Kylo didn't bother venturing outside on his own very often. What would be the point? It wasn't as though he kept friends, and he didn't communicate with his family. 

 

Kylo was very handsome. His features were odd, yes. A strange combination of hard edges and soft lines that at once made him look charmingly naive and oddly cold, they shouldn't of fit together as well as they did, for all intents and purposes. His ears and nose were far too large, for instance, and his chin too sharply defined. But there was something in the way he carried those broad shoulders of his, in the way his eyes went soft and the apples of his cheeks turned a fetching shade of pink that made him look dashing. Hux wouldn't be able to put a finger on it, if asked, but Ren was handsome, moles and all. 

 

One such mole he toyed with now, running his fingers over the slightly raised bump of it where it perched on Kylo's forearm among others much like it - though not all of them protruded - and kept his chin tilted back, resting against Kylo's front with the steady rise-and-fall of a chest behind him. 

 

He hummed at the suggestion and went along with the change in topic, for once not feeling the need to push their previous conversation to some logical conclusion. Hux liked showing Kylo off, and there was nothing more to elaborate on in regards to that. 

 

"Let's." The agreement came easily. Hux had said himself that they weren't going to spend all day lazing around in bed. That necessitated some sort of public activity, or at the very least a change of scenery from the usual contemporary decorations and bland, off-white walls of his home. "Out to lunch, maybe? We could go for a walk." 

 

Kylo hummed in agreement, taking another reprieve from giving verbal responses so that he could nuzzle against Hux's neck. Occasionally, more to take stock of them than to really  _ tease _ , Kylo grazed his teeth against the mottled bruises forming along Hux's pale skin. He bruised so well, and Kylo had been feeling particularly possessive last night. Hux would be needing that makeup of his to cover up the few left above his collar. 

 

Or, perhaps this time Hux wouldn't bother. They had established an exclusivity between them as of last night. They had also established that they both  _ wanted _ one another for reasons that went beyond their 'mutually beneficial arrangement'. as of this morning. Why shouldn't Hux show off his hickeys? They were proof that he belonged to someone, after all. 

 

Kylo was content to leave his neck -- which most certainly sported just as many dark bruises -- exposed for all to see. It wasn't as effective as a ring, but at least their hickeys served as a visual suggestion that they were both taken.

 

It was a pleasant thought, knowing Hux both possessed him and was possessed in turn. Sleepy though he still was, Kylo couldn't help but feel a little thrill run down his spine. He reacted by tightening his hold on Hux slightly, and by more playfully scraping his teeth along his jaw.

 

He would consider Kylo's non-answer agreement enough. The silence suited him, anyway, as did the slow pull of a mouth along his shoulder and over his throat. Kylo seemed determined to leave him with a few more dark marks, teeth scraping his skin and sending sparks of pleasure up his spine.

 

Hux exhaled a slow breath, sinking further against Kylo's chest and letting his eyes slip closed. This wasn't so bad, perhaps. Work still loomed threateningly over his head. He'd have to call into the office, let them know he wouldn't be coming in that day. There were things to be concerned about for the future, questions about what the office might look like tomorrow, about whether or not there might be an emergency.

 

The warm filter of Kylo's breath helped to relieve some of those concerns, however. Hux could afford a day for himself. Especially if it involved playful kisses and fingers toying along his lean torso.

 

"You're awful, you know." Minutes later, Hux finally broke the silence, tilting his chin to press a kiss to Kylo's jaw. One hand trailed out of the water, drips splashing back into the tub while Hux tucked his fingers into Kylo's hair and urged him a little closer, close enough for him to latch his mouth to the side of that ridiculous throat and suck another bruise into the soft skin there, slow and indulgent. "Completely incorrigible."

 

 

"You like it," Kylo cockily replied, as if that wasn't a completely trite and predictable reply. If Hux accused him of such, Kylo could always blame it on his hangover and lack of coffee.

 

And anyway, it was _true_ \-- Hux did, for whatever reason, actually like Kylo's less-than-gleaming personality. Hux _liked_ that he wasn't kind or selfless. He _liked_ Kylo's reckless, wanton nature, at least for the most part. There was no real edge behind his words when he said them, certainly nothing suggesting that Hux was actually trying to give him a reprimand.

 

Kylo took this as an open invitation to keep doing what he was doing. He let out a pleased hiss as Hux bit at his throat, and responded in kind by going for one of the few unmarked patches of skin on Hux's shoulder. Kylo sank his teeth in and sucked until blood rushed to the surface and left a dark, purpling bruise when he withdrew again.

 

So much for not having sex on his mind; now that Kylo was reasonably awake, with Hux naked and pressed back against him beneath the steaming bath water, Kylo couldn't think of anything  _ but  _ how much he wanted to fuck. His dick was beginning to harden, and Hux would probably notice it soon enough.

 

In the meantime, Kylo took to running his palms down Hux's stomach all the way to the inside of his thighs.

 

"I wouldn't be as exciting to you if I wasn't ' _ awful',"  _ Kylo purred against Hux's clean shaven jaw, giving his thighs a gentle squeeze. "Isn't that right?"

 

Hux didn't offer a verbal reply. It wouldn't do to stroke Kylo's ego - he knew this firsthand - but he did hum some noncommittal noise, tipping his chin back for that fresh mark Kylo seemed so eager to suck into his skin. 

 

"Atrocious," he continued when he felt Ren's dick nudge against his back. 

 

"You awful beast," he muttered, littering bites up Kylo's jaw and to his ear, where he paused to bite down on the lobe and tuck another hickey where a mole bumped the skin just below it. 

 

"Terrible creature," he kissed into Kylo's mouth, the words muffled by his tongue and soft lips under his own. Water splashed around them, waves stirred by their bodies and splashing close to the edge of the tub as Hux shifted, reaching back to curl a hand around the meat of Kylo's thigh. "What would I do without you?"

 

The question was a little too tenderly spoken, and Hux hoped to rectify that situation with a bite, pulling out Kylo's lip with his teeth before the man could offer some sort of smarmy response. 

 

Unsurprisingly, Kylo had been on the cusp of saying something smug, but his words were swallowed up by a grunt as Hux's teeth caught and tugged at his lower lip. He furrowed his brow, as though peeved by this. In truth, he was thoroughly enjoying all of the bites Hux was giving him -- as evidenced by the way his cock was now half-hard and poking into Hux's back.

 

He didn't try to tug away his mouth, but the moment Hux's teeth released him, Kylo retaliated. He grasped Hux by the jaw and pulled him in for a rough kiss that was as much tongue as it was teeth.  When Kylo broke away, it was with flushed red lips and a hungry look in his once tired eyes.

 

"You would make do," he muttered in response to Hux's question, rhetorical though it had been. Kylo was still grasping his jaw, his palm pressing just under the swell of Hux's throat. "Although you would probably be  _ bored  _ without me around. No more fucking in your office or in your expensive cars. No more skipping work to fuck in your tub _..." _

 

Not that the latter had happened yet, but clearly Kylo intended it to.

 

"What a terrible existence that would be," Hux muttered, chin tipped back by Kylo's fingers and the cherry-slash of his own mouth slick with spit.

 

"No more sex in obscene places, no more of your trash littering my apartment..." It would be lonely, though Hux wasn't about to admit that for love nor money. He liked having Kylo around. Liked the way he felt and the rumpled sheets and the strong arms around his waist. Saying Kylo made him happy wouldn't necessarily be far from the truth, though Hux was loathe to admit  _ that _ , too. 

 

Instead, he shut Ren up with another kiss, twisting slightly until he could wind his arms around those wide shoulders and press his hip into Ren's crotch, feeling his dick pulse hotly against his skin. "I don't think I've ever skipped work to fuck in my tub, Ren. You're jumping the gun a little bit." Plus the logistics seemed a tad difficult, with the tub they had to work with and Ren's size and Hux's desire to make sure water didn't end up sloshing over the side. 

 

"Are you saying you don't want to?" Kylo shot back, rocking against the sharp jut of Hux's hip. The friction felt different under the steamy bathwater, but it still felt _ good _ , and Kylo was fully willing to ignore the logistics of fucking in the tub if it meant getting go _ fuck. _ He made this clear in the way he nipped at Hux's neck and ran his palms up the insides of his thighs. One of his hands moved eventually to Hux's cock, wrapping loosely around him. Kylo doubted it would take much convincing; Hux rarely denied him much of anything to begin with, but especially not after this morning's string of confessions.

 

Kylo figured he might as well use this to his benefit.

 

"I'm saying it's impractical," Hux pointed out despite the fact that he did nothing about the hand wrapped warm around him and the teeth set against his shoulder. Kylo's persistence tended to pay off for the man, if only because Hux wasn't particularly diligent in denying him anything he asked for. There was something satisfying about giving Kylo what he wanted, if only for the voracious and enthusiastic 'thank yous' Hux received in response. 

 

He tilted his chin back for more of those kisses and rocked his hips into the loose fist around him, bringing a hand up to wrap around the back of Kylo's neck and keep him close. "And messy. And if you get water on the floor, you're mopping it up." 

 

Kylo had learned by now that rolling his eyes would earn him a reprimand, so he refrained -- this time, anyway. He was in too content a mood to sour it by intentionally grating on Hux's nerves. More besides, he didn't really _ want _ to grate on them.

 

"Fine," he muttered against Hux's lips, before dipping down to mouth and nip at the side of his throat again. Disapproving though Hux was of the impracticality of sex in his tub, he was already hard in Kylo's palm. Kylo didn't bother pretending this didn't leave him smug; with his mouth pulling into a crooked smirk, he closed the scant few centimeters between them and pressed their lips together again. When his hand began to move around Hux's dick, he kept his strokes slow and indulgent. The kiss stayed similarly tender, which felt a bit strange but far from unpleasant. This wasn't how they usually did things, even in the early morning.

 

Kylo acquiesced before Hux even had the chance to gear up for an argument, leaving him with little else to channel his energy into besides the kiss that followed, wet and a little slower than he was used to. His tongue darted out to press against the seam of Kylo's lips, breath hot and tasting of mint. 

 

Minutes passed and they parted on a wet smack, breathing against each other while Hux bit the inside of his cheek and tried not to groan at the play of fingers along the length of his dick. His fingers flexed in Kylo's hair, and his other hand meandered down his side, slipping between them to curl loosely around his dick. 

 

"No lube in the bathroom," he pointed out between panting breaths and dragged his thumb along the glans of Kylo's dick, ducking his head to mouth over the bruises he'd left the night before. There probably was lube somewhere in one of the drawers, actually, but certainly not close enough to be conveniently reachable from where they were, and Hux wasn't about to let Kylo out of the tub.

 

Kylo had stashed lubricant in just about every room of Hux's apartment, the bathroom included. He hadn't had the foresight of storing some within arm's reach of the bath tub, unfortunately, and Kylo felt no particular inclination to move. Instead, he buried his face against Hux's neck and groaned at the slow circles Hux's thumb was making around the head of his cock.

 

"Not a problem," Kylo's voice rumbled against Hux's skin, and as he continued slowly working his palm up and down the other man's shaft, Kylo dragged his other hand across Hux's chest. He found one of Hux's nipples and pinched it briefly between his fingers before soothing away the sting with a gentle rub of the callused pad of his thumb.

 

"I can easily make you cum like this."

 

Kylo sounded quite confident and more than slightly pleased with himself when he said this.

 

Kylo's smug statement and the pinch to his nipple both had Hux startling out a quiet laugh, something that echoed nicely against the tile and had him muffling his next little noise against Ren's shoulder. 

 

"Mn - you're, ah, very confident in that, aren't you?" he grunted when he could find his tongue again. Kylo was persistent, pressing against all of the spots he knew that Hux liked with those callused fingers. He ran a palm over Hux's cock, teased his nipples, and for a moment Hux forgot entirely that he was supposed to be reciprocating, as well, caught up in the slow grind of his hips into that wide hand and muffling his quiet groans against Kylo's collarbone. 

 

Eventually, his own fingers dipped down again, knuckles sliding over the treasure trail leading down to Kylo's dick. Hux teased it, pinching the foreskin gently and pulling it away from the glans before finally wrapping his hand around the shaft in one slow, satisfying stroke from base to tip, twisting his wrist so that his fingers nudged up against Kylo's stomach on the upstroke. 

 

"I am,"  Kylo agreed, and he might have sounded more smug if not for the way his breath hitched as Hux began indulgently stroking his cock. He diligently returned the favor, feeling there was no need to drag this out by trying to tease. Kylo just wanted Hux to feel  _ good -- _ which was as close to a tender thought as Kylo would profess to having.

 

Still circling Hux's nipple with his thumb and jerking off his dick with his hand, Kylo sank his teeth into the meat of Hux's shoulder and sucked another dark hickey into his fair skin. He loved how easy it was to make Hux bruise, and the sight of those bite marks brought with it a certain sense of security, because Hux was  _ his _ and anyone who saw his skin below the collar would know that.

 

It was a similar premise to wearing a ring, albeit the latter wasn't something Hux would have to hide for reasons of 'professionalosm'.

 

The more Kylo thought about it, the more he found himself liking the idea.

 

"You would need one, too," he muttered, voice thick and breaths still stuttering as Hux changed the pace of his hand. Kylo was already close, but that was nothing new and Hux never needed to wait long before Kylo was recovered and ready for more.

 

And they did have the entire day ahead of them, for once…

 

For a few, indulgent beats, Hux wasn't sure what exactly Kylo was talking about, grumbling something in response to the nonsense statement before the rest of his thoughts caught up to him. 

 

"A ring?" That had to be what they were talking about, after all. Even with Kylo's hand wrapped snug around his dick and his body rapidly reaching a point where Hux lost all ability to think, he could put two and two together, tipping his chin back to suck another dark mark along the underside of Kylo's jaw before he spoke again. 

 

"I would," he agreed, finally, after another hickey and a slow squeeze under the head of Kylo's dick. "Something gold." Simple, without diamonds or anything obscene. "Would you want your name in it too? Engraved on the inside so that all those lovers I apparently take when you're not looking know I'm a kept man?" Again, Hux bit him and again, he squeezed, feeling Kylo pulse hot and hard in his hand like he was inches away from orgasm. He wasn't far himself, rolling his hips slowly into the fist wrapped around him while he mouthed another line along the tendons of Kylo's throat and groaned hotly into his ear. 

 

" _ Yes _ ," Kylo hissed through his teeth, his entire body tensing both in anticipation of the orgasm he could feel building low in his groin, and because the thought of Hux with _ other lovers _ plucked at a particularly sensitive nerve. He knew Hux didn't mean it, that his words were dripping heavily with sarcasm, but that didn't make Kylo feel any less desperately possessive. He slid his free hand up Hux's inner thigh and dug his fingers into the delicate skin, all while sucking another dark bruise onto his throat -- intentionally just a few scant centimeters above Hux's collar. Kylo knew Hux preferred to keep any hickeys discrete, but the mantra of  _ mine mine mine _ in his head superseded logic and Kylo was too driven by this moment of passion and lust to bother listening to reason. He was thus also oblivious to the fact that he was actually murmuring the word  _ mine _ aloud, muffled though it was against Hux's skin.

 

And if Hux didn't like the sound of  _ that,  _ well, he didn't stop his hand in time to give Kylo any reprimands. A moment later, Kylo was choking on some butchered mix of  _ Hux _ and  _ mine _ that came out barely sounding like either. Then he was coming into Hux's fist, his hips giving a few weak twitches and his hand losing its rhythm around Hux's cock as Kylo shuddered through his orgasm. There was cum in their bathwater now, but the thought was neither repulsive nor particularly noteworthy -- for the moment, at least.

 

When the peak of Kylo's orgasm began to subside to something less overwhelming, Kylo dutifully squeezed Hux's cock in his hand and began working him at a quick, efficient pace. He wouldn't feel entirely satisfied until Hux was spent and twitching against his chest, after all, and Kylo had never left him wanting in the past. 

 

Hux didn't get the chance to comment on that possessive murmur pressed into his throat, nor the fact that Kylo was leaving marks decidedly above the collar. He hardly had the chance to open his mouth before he felt Kylo's dick twitch in his hand, pulsing hot. He could feel it when Kylo came - the way he slumped forward, groaned something unintelligible and jerked his hips into the hand around him while mouthing along Hux's shoulder and slacking when it came to his own fist wrapped loosely around Hux's dick. 

 

The latter didn't last long. Scarcely did Hux get the chance to feel slighted by the lack of attention than Kylo was back at it, tightening his fingers around his dick with the kind of tight unyielding pressure they both knew Hux liked. 

 

Hux whimpered - a sound he would deny if it was brought up later - and tucked his face against Ren's throat those last few, desperate moments, panting harshly against Kylo's damp skin and digging his fingers into the meat of one thick thigh. 

 

There was cum in their bathwater, now, and the realization filtered in slowly - coupled with a post-orgasmic daze and Kylo's hand growing still around him some time later, after Hux had spilled between them to the memory of Kylo's words and the still-stinging bruises on his skin. He shoved fingers away from himself under the water and groaned, spent and satisfied and starting to feel a little pruny in the rapidly-cooling bathwater. 

 

"Awful creature. I can't fucking believe I just let you do that." In their bubble bath, no less. 

  
Kylo had nothing to say to this, too tired and fucked out and _ smug _ to offer anything more than a quiet snort of laughter against the nape of Hux's neck. He would have preferred to stay like this for a while longer, but the water had gone from hot to tepid to cool, and Hux wasn't keen on whittling away his morning cold and pruney in the tub.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone curious:
> 
> Fresh wrote for Hux  
> Tea wrote for Ren


End file.
